There's a blockchain for everything, it seems. From online payments to dental health, online storage to AI-development platforms, decentralized blockchain technology has facilitated a wide variety of different services. Now, there's AdEx, a platform that connects publishers and advertisers for the purpose of negotiating contracts. It comes with other options as well, including a way for common users to not only control settings that affect their privacy and user data, but the sort of ads they prefer to see.

This isn't the first platform to offer these sort of services, and they haven't released a public beta – but the company has some interesting things to offer that are worth checking out.

Feel free to use our guide below, where you'll learn what AdEx is, how it works, and how you could get the most out of it. And if you like AdEx, you might like the other coins on our best-of list for 2018.

The Ad Industry and How It Works

Right now, internet advertising is the biggest source of revenue in advertising as a whole. More and more services (especially streaming services like Hulu) are providing more and more ways of getting ads in front of people, and it looks like digital advertising will only increase.

Fees are charged by middlemen whose job it is to connect advertisers with publishers, and these fees can be charged per impression – as a result, they can really add up.

Because of the lack of transparency in the ad industry, it's hard to tell how effective an advertisement really is – user impressions could be coming from bots, after all.

Ad-blocking software has changed the ad industry too. People who install ad blockers end up not seeing (and clicking) on banner ads, and often skip ads before videos.

Solution? AdEx

AdEx wants to find a resolution to the problems presented by the current advertising industry. In their plan, they've identified three different main areas to focus on: publishers, advertisers, and users. These are the three most fundamental variables in advertising, and they have a way to deal with each one in ways that, hopefully, make everyone happy.

The Publisher

The publisher is someone who creates content, owns it, or distributes it. They're the ones who get paid for hosting ads on services or websites they own. To help them, AdEx has a couple of features intended just for them.

First, there's verification of ad clicks. To make sure publishers know that ads are doing legitimately well, AdEx vets clicks for authenticity, making sure publishers know what's doing well and is actually bringing in money.

They offer control over what ads are shown, so publishers can make sure they're only showing stuff they agree with.

Advertisers and AdEx

AdEx gives advertisers more control over their material as well.

Advertisements via AdEx are paid for in ADX, the in-house token. These tokens can be redeemed later for cash.

AdEx promises advertisers lots of customization for their audience targeting, to make sure they're being the most effective that they can. Right now, unfortunately, there's not a lot of user data for advertisers to use, but the gathering of more information to make available to advertisers is on the docket.

The policy of verification extends to advertisers as well. AdEx wants to make sure advertisers know which advertisements have authentic clicks and impressions, so that no one wastes their time over ads that are only getting bot clicks or false impressions.

Users and AdEx

Last but not least, we have users. AdEx wants to make sure they're taken care of as well, which is why they want to implement a portal that gives users the option of choosing what sort of ads they see. This could reduce frustration and resentment from users who don't want to constantly see ads that have nothing to do with them, making the experience of using the internet more pleasant in general.

The Transfer to NEO

Right now the AdEx platform works on Ethereum, and its token is ERC-20-compatible, but they're moving soon to the NEO blockchain.

Once it's moved over, it'll have an exchange built in to facilitate bidding for ad space, as well as a service for letting advertisers and publishers interact directly. Since the actual negotiations will take place off-chain, the chain won't get bogged down in all the minutiae of different requests, changes, and considerations: the only things that will be recorded on the blockchain will be the final decisions, which will keep things scalable and prevent unnecessary network activity.

Storage

Since media is an intrinsic part of advertising, including photos, videos, and PDFs, AdEx will be using a third-party protocol called IPFS to manage media storage. It allows P2P transferal of media assets and should integrate quickly. AdEx has also made it easy for other storage solutions to be quickly integrated with the platform, increasing the amount of choices users have.

The Reputation System

Like any good decentralized app, AdEx will utilize a rating system. This way, users can rate each other on how trustworthy they are, making sure that no one accidentally ends up working with someone who's shady or untrustworthy. There are even filters in place to let people choose the sorts of people they want to interact with.

The Future of AdEx

Right now there is no usable product, yet. AdEx is still under development, with a beta version promised in February of 2018. As of the writing of this article (mid February) it doesn't appear to be finished, but they still have a few weeks to make their deadline.

The team has a couple of major plans for the future, including increased user-friendliness, and making sure that the application can be scaled to large-scale use without major bugs or problems. There has also been talk of introducing a real-time bidding system that could eliminate wait-times and make AdEx faster and more convenient to use.

The AdEx Token

Despite being so young – and the platform hasn't even been released in beta, yet – the ADX token is already in the top 200 coins in terms of market cap, worldwide (last we checked, it was #167). That might not seem impressive, but when you remember that there are over 1500 cryptocurrencies being traded, with more added every month, that's not bad at all.

The ADX will be used to buy impressions using the AdEx exchange.

Buying ADX

Buying ADX is easy. Unlike many young coins, ADX can be bought on major exchanges. These include Binance, Huobi, Bittrex, and HitBTC. For most of the exchanges it's available at, you'll need to buy it with Ethereum or Bitcoin, although later on it's possible that you'll be able to buy it with fiat at an exchange that supports it.

Storing ADX

Since ADX is an ERC-20-compatible coin, you can store it in any wallet that supports the ERC-20 protocol. That includes MyEtherWallet, the most popular online wallet option, bar none. If you want more security, you can store them on a Trezor or Ledger Nano S, two hardware wallets that have added security (like pin codes and passphrases) and can be disconnected from the internet, leaving them safe from intruders and network blackouts.

The Team Behind AdEx

This team has a great history behind it, with most all team members having experience in blockchain technology or in advertising. It was founded by Ivo Georgiev, a developer who founded Stremio, a video streaming service that aims to make video content easy to find and organize all in one application.

AdEx vs Bat

These are both blockchain-based platforms that aim to change how advertising works online. Both are Ethereum-based (although AdEx is moving to NEO) and both use tokens as a way of paying for impressions. Bat's token, however, can be used by users as well to “pay” for certain ad-related services. Bat is meant to be used with a browser called Brave, while AdEx appears to be meant for use with any browser. Both place a high premium on user privacy and direct interaction between advertisers and publishers.

AdEx vs adToken

Again, here we have two similar services meant to change digital advertising. Both use Ethereum as their blockchain, and both use tokens, although while AdEx's tokens are used just for paying for impressions by advertisers, adToken coins entitle the user to voting rights as well. Both include blacklists that contain malicious or shifty advertisers or publishers, so that no one works with the wrong people. AdToken offers a bounty program for developers to add on to adToken's platform, while AdEx doesn't seem to have a similar system.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is there an AdEx wallet?
Not right now.

Where can I read news about AdEx?
On Reddit, crypto blogs, and on Twitter.

What is the AdEx coin price?
Around $1.45, last we checked.

Is there a place for AdEx coin on Reddit?
Yes, there's a community of people discussing it there.

How do I buy AdEx?
On Binance, Huobi, or HitBTC, among others.

Is AdEx “crypto”?
Not really, since its token is meant for use on the application only.

What's the price prediction for AdEx?
It could go up once the beta launches.

What is AdEx?
It's a platform for connecting advertisers, publishers, and users.

Is there an AdEx Twitter?Yes.

Can I store AdEx on MyEtherWallet?Yes.

What is the AdEX token?ADX.

Is AdEx a prototype?
Right now, yes, since it hasn't entered beta yet.

When was the AdEx ICO?
In 2017.

Is AdEx an exchange?
It will have an exchange for bidding between advertisers and publishers.

Do you know how to buy AdEx coin?Get some Bitcoin or Ethereum and buy it off Binance, Huobi, or any of the other places it's available.

Conclusion

Advertising's future lies online, and the way things are going right now, lots of people are being left unhappy. Services like AdEx promise a way to not only improve ad revenue for publishers, but make sure advertisers know which ads are working and on whom. It also takes users into account, giving them options to make sure they're only seeing ads that have to do with them. While it hasn't been released yet, some of the features being promised make AdEx look like it could be a contender in the new world of digital marketing.

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